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New York—News Corp. announced it is shuttering The Daily, less than two years after it launched the iPad newspaper. The company also named Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Robert Thomson as CEO of its new publishing entity, which will retain the News Corp. name.
While The Daily garnered a reported 100,000 paid subscribers, News Corp. Chairman-CEO Rupert Murdoch said in a statement that the publication's audience was not growing fast enough. “From its launch, The Daily was a bold experiment in digital publishing and an amazing vehicle for innovation,” he said. “Unfortunately, our experience was that we could not find a large enough audience quickly enough to convince us the business model was sustainable in the long term.”
News Corp. said earlier this year that it plans to split itself into two entities, one comprising its publishing assets and the other its entertainment operations. The publishing company that Thomson will lead will include the Journal, among other assets. The entertainment company will be called Fox Group.
Thomson will be succeeded at the Journal and as editor in chief of Dow Jones & Co., by Gerard Baker, who has been deputy editor in chief of the Journal since January 2009. Both start their new roles Jan. 1.
“Gerry Baker's extensive background across digital and print, as well as publications and geographies, has helped shape the Journal'' coverage during his time as deputy editor in chief,” said Lex Fenwick, CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of the Journal, in a statement. “I am thrilled to work with him as he builds on Robert Thomson's fantastic work to steer us to even greater heights.”